The Little Mermaid
by indulgence in life
Summary: Muggles Rule the World AU! I knew not to trust them. Humans always betrayed each other, as they had throughout history, for various reasons that seemed silly to anyone who, knowing the consequences, glanced through their history.


The muggles had found us, all of us. Magical creatures were hunted down and captured from everywhere the muggles could reach with the spindly fingers of their rapidly advancing technology; technology that had recently allowed them to delve deep into the oceans and into a mer village that had been one of their neighbours. Once they had managed to create the little device that had managed to alert them to the presence of magic and wards, everything they had once known had crumbled.

The wizarding world had fallen first. The devastation left after the war with the Second Dark Lord had left the wizarding world unable to fight back against the onslaught of the muggles and their machinery.

Our history allowed us the ability to blame the witches and wizards for being careless as their relief clouded their senses. It allowed the magical creatures to place blame on the wizards for the massacre that occurred afterwards, for the revelation of a world that had been kept to the shadows for longer than the oldest human memory served.

Blood had been ruthlessly spilt on both sides like water released from a whale's blowhole, or the fissures my parents enjoyed lazing near.

The muggles were merciless when faced with something they did not understand. Especially when those _things_, for that was what they called us, were so similar to them it frightened them.

My parents said that was why they hunted the witches and wizards so viciously. Wizardkind could meld into their world so easily, and they had. The muggles no longer even trusted their own memories of playing with people they now knew as wizard children. They felt they were in danger of an attack from a previously invisible enemy.

I knew all of these things without a shadow of a doubt. It was all part of the history taught in our village, one that was drilled into our heads since childhood along with the message _humans are dangerous_. Those humans included the wizardkind that had given the muggles information on where to find the magical creatures, the ones they saw as 'less' than they were. The information had been given to save themselves, of course.

I knew not to trust them. Humans always betrayed each other, as they had throughout history, for various reasons that seemed silly to anyone who, knowing the consequences, glanced through their history.

The story was as familiar as the back of my hand, but I couldn't help the fascination I felt bubbling through me whenever I thought of the muggle world.

The world without water.

The world I would never survive in with my tail, or my gills.

The world that was so dangerously fascinating that I often swam to the surface just to glance at it, at the people who simply existed without noticing my presence.

I was grateful for my brown hair and tail. It blended in with the rocks in the shallow water allowing me to watch everything I learned in our lessons. It allowed me to watch the humans, and find out more about their behaviour and reactions, their daily lives, anything and everything I could.

My parents had asked me to be careful, often warning me away from the surface. I couldn't simply exist knowing that there were things I didn't know though. I wanted to learn more. My parents knew that, and reluctantly accepted the fact that I would not be swayed from by daily adventure to the surface.

They also knew that I would take any opportunity to experience life on the surface myself. They had realized while I had been only a child that my curiosity always won over my fear. It scared them, but they learnt quickly that there was nothing they could do to change that.

I was in the shallow water again, watching the little pieces of floating dryness the humans drifted over the water with. Those things were fascinating. There were so many different types of them, some dangerous and other's less so.

"Child."

It was the barest of a sound, but I caught it on the edge of my hearing. At first I had thought that it was simply a trick of my mind, or one of the humans speaking a little louder than usual. It wasn't uncommon for the sounds to travel through the water, but as the voice grew louder I realized someone was calling me.

I turned to see a black-haired mermaid. Her eyes were heavy lidded, and everything about her felt darker than the merpeople I was used to. My mother had once spoken of the Black Mermaids when I was younger but she had been extremely vague about them, and never gave my more information when I had asked her. All my mother ever said was that they were no longer our biggest danger, and that perhaps they had been right with the idea of complete separation in the beginning.

Her black eyes glittered as I swam closer to the shadow of the big rocks she was floating under. I was curious, both from the lack of information on them and to the reason of the strange mermaid calling to me. She waited until I was only a few feet from where she was before moving off.

I was hesitant. The direction she was going in was one I seldom ventured very far in. The mermaid realized that I was no longer following her and paused again, dark eyes expectantly turned towards me.

Curiosity won again, and I followed her.

She led me far into unknown territory. I was no longer sure I would be able to make my way back home by myself. Nothing that surrounded me was by anyway familiar, but I was slowly seeing more and more people.

The woman must have been important in some way for everyone we passed nodded to her. I wondered why such an important person would be coming to find _me_, an unimportant mermaid that was often shunned by peers for being too interested in learning.

I was led into a richly decorated hall. A white, and honestly strange-looking, merman floated at the opposite end of the hall. He was powerful, I could tell that much. He held himself with power and a pride that I had only ever seen in the leader of our village, Albus Dumbledore. I assumed this merman was someone similar, the leader of his people.

Still, I had to wonder why he wanted to see me.

His face broke into a terrifying smile. I wished I could leave, but I knew I would only get myself lost if I tried right now. Maybe I could just hear him out, disagree, and then ask to leave? It sounded like a good enough plan.

"Miss Hermione."

I wondered how he knew my name. I had never heard his name. I nodded slowly.

"Wonderful. I had heard rumours of your desire to see the world above, and wish to know if this is true."

I nodded once more, a little hesitant at how much he seemed to know about me.

"I wish to make you an exchange. I will grant you one wish, if you manage to complete my request. However, there is one catch should you accept: you only have until sunset of that evening until your legs will become a tail once more, and you will die."

"What would the request be?"

The merman's smile turned sinister. "You will have to leave a … gift for the humans at the point I ask you."

His smile gave me the chills, but I saw no harm in his request. It _was_ only a gift, although I giving a gift to people who were destroying everything seemed to be a strange thing to do.

Finally, I nodded again.

"Excellent. I shall meet you tomorrow where Bella found you today. Bella? Would you mind showing dear Hermione here the way back?"

I could see the excitement in his eyes even as his voice belied none of it. The merpeople on either side of me were all excited. They all must know what the gift is. I could not understand what was so exciting about this gift, but I had a feeling that it wasn't anything good.

I was starting to regret making such a hasty decision without asking for any more information. The mermaid, Bella, was smiling but her smile carried darker undertones which made me weary of her. Everything was now putting me on edge, and I wish I could go back on the agreement I had just made. My parents had taught me to never to back on my agreements though, even when I regretted them, because the promise had already been made.

* * *

I was back here, waiting only because of my promise. The excitement I would have felt over the prospect of finally being able to wander through the human world dulled by the feeling that I was going to do something dreadfully wrong in exchange.

"Ah, good, you hadn't changed your mind."

Slightly startled, I turned towards the source of the voice. I was handed the bag by an unfamiliar mermaid, blonde this time, it was like one of the bags she had seen the humans sometimes drop into the sea.

Foreknowledge of what was going to happen didn't provide enough warning for the pain that filled me as my tail split apart without any blood being spilt. I could feel my ability to breathe also wane as my tail slowly took the shape of two legs.

Soon my lungs were screaming for air, a truly novel feeling since I was underwater. I let my new appendage's urge to move take over and burst through the surface of the water, gasping as the air burned its way into my body.

I don't know how long I floated there for until one of those floating objects neared me. I was struggling to keep my head above the water and my new appendages were tiring quickly. I heard yells and shouts. I felt myself being lifted out of the water for the first time in my life.

Darkness closed in.

* * *

I woke with a start. I kicked my tail out as I usually did, only to kick who ever had been near me and fall to the floor. I heard a slight yelp in response.

I glanced up to see a human that looked around my age clutching the left side of his face. I assumed that was where I had kicked him.

"Good to know you're alive and kicking," the human said.

"Sorry?"

"Nah, it's okay. My brothers are a lot worse. I was just checking up on your bruise."

I cocked my head. I didn't remember receiving a bruise.

"Now it's turning blue. That's good, I think? It's going to be a bit painful, but it means it's healing. That's what mum says at least."

I nodded, and he sighed in relief.

"And, um, since you didn't have, you know, pants when you were rescued, Ginny, my sister that is, left some on the dresser next to your bed." The human's face was turning red.

I turned my head and noticed the material a close surface. "Ah, okay. Thank you."

"I'm Ron, by the way. Who are you?"

"I'm Hermione."

"Um, okay. I'll, er, get my sister Ginny to bring you some food. You were out for hours, you must be hungry and, um, we're nearing shore, so you could probably find your way home." He turned as red as his hair, and scurried up the stairs.

I unsteadily made my way back onto the soft surface I had been lying on. I had left home when it had been dark, and it had been dawn when my tail had separated.

* * *

It was around late morning now. The sun was high in the sky. I didn't have much time left.

I thanked the Weasley family, for that was what they introduced themselves by, as I walked onto solid land for the first time.

I had always thought that the first time I did this I would be walking slowly, enjoying every moment with the sensation of sand between my feet, nothing like the rush I walked onto land with.

The target, the merman had said, was a snowy white building near the centre of the city. It had sounded easy enough, and had looked just as easy from the boat, I had learnt that that was what it was called. The difficulty of the mission increased drastically once I entered the winding streets.

Everything was everywhere and the clean cut pathway I had mapped on the ship had dissolved into a maze of dead ends and enormous buildings that ended in split paths.

It was frightening. I had run into several scary people, and several other shouting people.

I had grown hungry once and had reached for some food, like I usually did at home, only to be shouted at and chased down the path and into one of the darker ones by a screaming man. I had met a terrifying man down that path and screamed: the angry man was easier to face than that one.

Tired and hungry, I found a place to sit down. I knew my time was quickly expiring but my task seemed impossible right now.

A hand popped into my view with a some kind of warm food that smelt delicious. I glanced up to see green eyes that reminded me so much of home that I nearly wept. I took the food gratefully. It wasn't much but it tasted wonderful in that moment.

"Are you lost? You look it."

I nodded, looking down at my hands before meeting his eyes again. His eyes were kind, and soon I found myself spewing my entire story to him, a stranger whose name I had yet to find out.

It was dangerous to tell this to a human, but after everything that had happened I couldn't take it any longer. I was half crying as a whispered my story to him.

He shook his head in amazement but made no move to harm or capture me. "I find your story amazing, but I have a feeling the entire thing is a trick. The plan leaves a bad taste in my mouth, but I will guide you to the building you're looking for."

It had taken several long minutes to reach the building I had been looking for. It had been much closer than I had thought, but that may also have been because the guide I had found, he had introduced himself as Harry later, seemed to know every nook and cranny of the city.

I left the little backpack at the foot of the stairs near the little fountain that reminded me of my underwater home. I realized that after this excursion I didn't think I would want to be human after all: everything was so confusing and stressful. I wasn't sure what I would use my wish for.

I turned back to my guide, thanking him profusely.

He only smiled and nodded.

"Could we go back to the sea?" I asked, knowing that if I were to try and navigate on my own I would be lost in minutes.

"Sure."

Tugging my hand, he lead me through darkened alleyways that reminded me of the scary man I had met only hours earlier. The sun was low on the horizon and, despite completing my task, I had a feeling of foreboding.

The minute the sun sank below the horizon, I began gasping for breath. In the distance I could hear screams coming from the direction we had just left.

Harry turned around looking alarmed. We were nearing the water, I could smell the salt from where I was now running to keep up with Harry. He wasn't leading me in the direction of the ships and boats but to a cliff face, and I realized that he must have some idea of what was happening to you.

"What…?" I managed to gasp out.

He was panting hard, "Gills. Water, Now!"

He shoved me towards the water. I grabbed onto him in my shock. He fell into the water with me. He was gasping, trying to keep his head above the water.

I could see the merman waiting for me, surrounded by the mermaid I had seen yesterday.

I cast one glance at the struggling Harry, before racing towards the merman. I didn't have time to be grateful for my tail just yet.

"I've done as you asked. Now I want my wish."

My voice was harsh, but I didn't care. There wasn't any time. My eyes kept flickering towards the barely floating body above me.

"So you have. What would your wish be then, child? Permanent legs?"

"No. Make him one of us. Permanently." I pointed at the struggling Harry as I spoke. At this moment there was nothing more important than keeping him alive. My curiosity of the human world had been sated with this merman's request.

I watched the merman's eyes narrow in annoyance but he reluctantly floated up towards the drowning boy. I narrowed by eyes at the wand he produced, but let it pass as Harry's legs began fusing together.

I raced up to him as he stopped struggling.

The merpeople surrounding Harry and I disappeared quickly. Harry was unconscious, but I knew I could take him home without questions. I would just tell them I found him floating somewhere. They wouldn't expect anything less from me.

* * *

"I heard some child left a bomb in the city above us yesterday. The entire place was destroyed."

I saw Harry's face turn sad, and regretted the actions that had led to the loss of so many people. There was nothing to be done now though.

"We're going to be finding bodies sinking along our sands for some time."

Harry's face tightened, but he said nothing. He only offered me a weak smile when I caught his eye.

I knew that my curiosity had been tempered.

I would never allow my curiosity to win over my gut feeling again.

The consequences were too great.

* * *

**A/N: AU where muggles rule the world **

**Quidditch League Round 12 **

**Caerphilly Catapults **

**Seeker: The Little Mermaid**

**Take a Lyric Competition: "Now it's turnin' blue." **


End file.
